At my most recent Joy El staff meeting (www.joyelgeneration.org), I had been “assigned” to find a mentor. (We took this upon ourselves voluntarily as a department.) We had agreed we would all begin mentoring someone if we weren’t already, and that we would each find someone to invest into us through a mentoring relationship.

The problem was that I had been looking for a mentor for about eight years: praying, asking, and meeting with different women. I firmly believed in the value of mentoring, but hadn’t yet found anyone. Now I had a month to accomplish this.

O me of little faith… (See Matthew 8:26.)

After a couple weeks of praying and racking my brain, I finally got up the courage to do what I needed to do. I marched over to a woman’s house in my neighborhood and knocked on her door.

This woman is busy. She has a houseful of children (whom she home-schools), multiple ministry involvements, a husband with a demanding job, and more. I was doubtful she would have time for me, but I respected her and wouldn’t know her answer unless I asked.

She came to the door and I just blurted it out (after some pleasantries), “I need a mentor. I know you’re busy, but would you prayerfully consider taking some time to mentor me? I would especially appreciate your guidance in parenting.”

“I can tell you my answer right now,” she responded. “I was actually already praying about that. I see you and your family over there and thought it would be a good idea for us to get together more. Yes, I’ll mentor you in parenting, but don’t put me above you.”

I was stunned. I shouldn’t have been, but I was.

We have met together for many years now. She has shared countless helpful nuggets that I have implemented as a parent and as a home educator. Our family is different because of her.